Morning Download from Invincible Money 

Personal finance + economics + markets

Good morning investors! I hope you have an incredible Tuesday. Mondays are always exciting because there’s so much that’s happening.

The stock market typically drops on Mondays due to bad news being released over the weekend.

But this Monday was phenomenal.

Today we cover:

• The war isn’t ending anytime soon

• The new iPhone might help Apple

• Americans are still struggling

📊 Economy 

Russia attacks Zelensky’s hometown

The war in Ukraine is far from over.

Despite peace talks and Ukraine’s efforts to send the war back to Russia, the country has continued to attack key cities with missiles, including the Ukraine president's hometown of Kryvyi Rih.

The war is costing the global economy, including the US, which recently announced that US troops deployed to Ukraine are now eligible for combat pay. US troops in Ukraine will now receive $325 per month.

A Few Other Things:

• Trump continues to face legal issues while winning political support.

• The German economy is struggling, and is no more the powerhouse it once was.

📰 News

The new iPhone will have some new features

Ready to be unveiled this fall, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus are expected to include some new features, including USB-C charging compatibility.

In addition, the latest models will be lighter thanks to titanium edges instead of stainless steel. Here’s what else we know about the yet to launch devices:

• A new notch design called the Dynamic Island, which adjusts its size based on notifications.

• A price hike that will make these devices more expensive.

The current version of the iPhone did not receive good reviews; however, analysts believe that the iPhone 15 could help the company rebound and boost the stock.

Quick hits:

With the market tightening, oil is ready for a major boost due to Saudi Arabia and Russia deciding to reduce supply.

About 20% of American workers have a job with “high exposure” to artificial intelligence, according to Pew Research Center. We’re not yet sure if this exposure is positive or negative.

📈 Stocks

S&P 500 4,599.96 (0.15%)
DJIA 35,559.33 (0.24%)
NASDAQ 14,346 (0.20%)
VIX 13.63 (2.24%)

The month ends on a positive note

July's last trading session finished in green, starting an exciting week of earnings from big names such as Apple and Amazon. Plus, economic data, including the jobs report, is expected this Friday.

Moreover, there were some major changes, including the benchmark 10-year yield dipping from 4.028% last Friday to 3.933%.

Today’s major movers:

• SoFi Technologies (19.89%) after positive second-quarter results and higher full-year guidance.

• Symbotic Inc. (50.64%) after the company reported better-than-expected results.

• Silicom Ltd. (-24.66%) following second-quarter results (not great).

• Apellis Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (-19.28%) after narrower than expected 2Q loss.

🔐 Crypto

Bitcoin $29,219 (-0.4%)
Ethereum $1,855 (-0.03%)
Total market cap $1.22 (-0.08%)
* Prices as of August 1st, 12:20 AM EST

eToro solidifies position with $120m in share sale

eToro, the stock trading platform and a major competitor to Robinhood, recently finalized a $120 million secondary share sale. This move resulted in a valuation slightly lower than its previous valuation of $3.5 billion, which was determined during a primary funding round earlier this year.

The Israeli digital brokerage, which offers users trading in digital currencies, CFDs, and stocks, gave angel investors and early employees a chance to sell shares to some of eToro’s existing investors.

eToro, however, will not net any income from this sale. This comes after the company almost went public in 2021 in a merger with Fintech V, which would've valued it at $10 billion.

💵 Personal Finance

About 61% of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck

Despite inflation pressures cooling off, more than half of American adults are still struggling to meet financial demands.

Lower-income workers appear to be suffering the most.

• About 66% of consumers earning less than $50,000 annually struggled in June

• About 65% of consumers earning between $50,000 and $100,000 faced financial issues in June

• Only 45% of consumers earning $100,000 or more reported living paycheck to paycheck

More than 50% of US consumers struggle on a daily basis, forcing them to turn to credit cards or savings. Reducing expenses and saving more can be an effective way to secure your future.

I talk about this and more in this video:

About 20% of US homebuyers are looking to move to Las Vegas

People from ‘rich’ cities are looking to move to more affordable cities, according to the latest Redfin.com data. Nearly 26% of property search queries on the platform come from cities where potential buyers do not live.

Based on this data, here’s a list of cities homebuyers appear to be interested in moving out of:

• San Francisco

• New York

• Los Angeles

• Washington, D.C.

• Chicago

On the other hand, buyers appear to be interested in these cities:

• Las Vegas

• Phoenix

• Tampa, Florida

• Orlando, Florida

• Sacramento, California

The difference in prices is huge. For example, the median price of a home in Las Vegas is $412,500, in comparison it is almost double in Los Angeles at $975,000.

Rising home prices and mortgage rates leave people with no option but to look at more affordable cities to live their dream of owning a house.

💰 Be a Better Investor

👩🏽‍⚖️ Legal Stuff
Nothing in this newsletter is financial advice. Always do your own research and think for yourself.